Today, we continue our series entitled “Laser Focus,” emphasizing living with a Laser Focus on the Fixed Purpose God established for us before the world began.
(Proverbs 4:25 TPT)
Set your gaze on the path before you. With fixed purpose, looking straight ahead, ignore life’s distractions.
Scriptures for today:
(James 1:2-4 TPT)
2 My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can!
3 For you know that when your faith is tested, it stirs up power within you to endure all things.
4 And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.
(Ecc 3:1 ERV)
There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time
Setting the stage:
In this series, I’ve been teaching you about enduring and overcoming, grit and determination, perseverance and long-suffering, and keeping your faith through it all. I’ve taught you about faith and patience, and how you need both to obtain God’s promises (Hebrews 6:12). When I teach on things like that, it is easy for most Christians to say, “AMEN!” If I talk about challenges and struggles and our need to overcome them, I get quick “Amens!” But today, I will talk about keeping your heart OPEN to God’s Blessing. This is something many of us need to hear over and over again.
While it is true that we need everything I just said to endure long enough to experience God’s best, it is also true that when it comes time for God to bless us, we, as believers, often think too small. We routinely limit what God wants to do in our lives by our inability to believe on the level that He wants to bless us. I can quote Ephesians 3:20 to you repeatedly, but it is still difficult for some believers to truly grasp the enormity of God’s heart and the power of His ability to bless us.
Jacob was doing the right thing. He was leading his family, and since everyone was in the middle of a famine, he sent 10 of his 11 boys to Egypt to buy food. The sons went to Egypt simply to buy food for their families so no one would starve. Never in a thousand years would they ever have imagined the type of blessing that God had in store for them.
This is why you must keep your heart OPEN to God. Many people know how to sow, struggle, and work hard, but when it comes down to receiving, many Christians have a hard time opening up their hearts to God’s Blessing. Let’s talk about it today.
The following will cover Genesis 45:14-20.
After Joseph offered to be a blessing to his family, he finally got the opportunity to settle down and spend some quality time with them. He went over to his little brother Benjamin, and they hugged. Then, both started crying. The power of the reunion was overwhelming. Joseph was still crying as he kissed each of his other brothers, and they all spent some time talking to each other.
By this time, word got back to the king that Joseph’s brothers had come to Egypt. What happened next is critical to point out. Joseph had promised his family land in Egypt. He had already committed himself to be a blessing to them. Joseph was very excited about a full family reunion. The king, Pharaoh, was the only person with the power to disrupt his plans. No one else in Egypt had power over Joseph. The king could have overruled Joseph and denied his ability to fulfill the promise. But thankfully, the Lord had given Joseph favor with the king, and he had certainly earned his position in Egypt. Because of Joseph and the favor of God in his life, Egypt prospered while every other nation in the region struggled. They were enjoying prosperity in the middle of a famine.
Considering all Joseph had done for him and his nation, the king said, “Tell your brothers to load their donkeys and return to Canaan. Have them bring their father and their families here. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they can eat and enjoy everything that grows on it. Also, tell your brothers to take some wagons from Egypt for their wives and children to ride in. And be sure to have them bring their father. They can leave their possessions behind because they will be given the best of everything in Egypt.”
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Favor can do more in a minute than labor can do in a lifetime.
In modern language, the king said this to Joseph’s brothers:
“Take what you need to get home, get your father and your families, and come back. I will send my best vehicles with you, so your trip to and fro is comfortable. Also, when you get there, don’t worry about grabbing all your stuff. You can come with nothing. I will make sure we give you the best of everything when you arrive!” What he did not say was, “We still have five more years of famine,” but that did not need to be said. He was basically saying, “All that Egypt has is yours. Don’t worry about a thing!“
The brothers and their father could not have worked themselves into this type of blessing. It far exceeded anything labor could provide.
My point is that you must keep your heart OPEN to God’s favor and Blessing. Many Christians are so accustomed to working for everything they get that they fail to recognize God’s favor when it is in operation. Since they can’t see God attempting to favor them, they don’t fully open their hearts to God’s best.
If I were to talk about struggle and pain, many Christians would say, “AMEN” quickly. However, when I talk about the favor of God, many are quick to dismiss it because they have never fully opened their hearts to it. You must be OPEN to receive it. You will never fully RECEIVE what you are not able to PERCEIVE. Please keep your heart OPEN to God’s favor.
How this applies to you:
— Be open to receiving God’s favor in your life. While this world says, “You have to work for everything you get,” there are plenty of blessings in God’s Kingdom that come by grace and not as a result of our own works.
— Trust that God’s favor can open doors and create opportunities beyond your abilities. Don’t limit what God can do in, with, through, and for you to the things you work for and/or earn. You can’t earn your way to the fullness of your destiny!
— Recognize that God’s blessings often come through unexpected channels. All Jacob and his sons wanted was to purchase some food, but God used a king from a foreign land (who was a pagan, by the way) to bless them richly.
— Embrace God’s favor as part of His plan for your success and well-being. It’s not about you. It’s about what God planned.
— Maintain a heart posture that is receptive to God’s blessings. You have been sowing for years. When it comes time to reap, keep your heart OPEN to reap! (By the way, it has been my experience that many Christians know how to work hard and sow, but when it comes time to reap, they fight against it because they feel like they have not earned it.)
2. Being reminded of God’s goodness and His favor is a good thing.
You may be thinking, “Rick, you have taught on the favor of God before. You have mentioned it several times during this series. First with Joseph, and now with his family.” You are right. But there is a reason for it. Most of us do not get a point from God or His Kingdom until we hear it several times. This is why I don’t mind sharing the same truths over and over with you. This is how you expand your capacity to believe God.
You can’t just hear something one time and get it in your spirit. When Paul was writing to the church at Philippi, he was teaching them to develop their joy in the Lord. He repeated this theme throughout his letter. By the time he got to the third chapter, he said, “It doesn’t bother me to write the same things to you that I have written before. In fact, it is for your own good.” (Phil 3:1).
Paul said in Romans that “faith comes by hearing” (Rom 10:17), and this “hearing” is a direct reference to the Word of God. Notice that he did not say faith comes by what you have heard. For your faith to consistently be in operation, you must consistently hear and receive the Word of God. This is why I share God’s Word daily. You need a steady diet of the Word of God to become the man/woman God has called you to be.
The more you hear and receive the Word of God in any area, the more your faith develops in that area. I have the responsibility to preach it (or write it in this case), and your part is to receive it, believe it, and release your faith for it.
I reiterate that God used Pharaoh as a blessing to Joseph and his family because that should elevate your capacity to believe God in that area. Pharaoh used his power, ability, influence, and money to help Joseph and his family. Likewise, you should believe God to move on the hearts of others so that they can use their power, ability, influence, and money to bless you. That’s called favor, and it is available to you. Like Joseph’s family, God can cause you to prosper in the middle of a famine!
How this applies to you:
— Continuously feed on the Word of God to strengthen your faith. You must meditate and medicate on God’s Word day and night.
— Be open to hearing the same message multiple times for deeper understanding. You won’t get a full revelation the first time you hear it.
— Trust that God will use others to bless you and expand your capacity to believe Him.
— Embrace the repetition of God’s promises as a way to solidify your faith.
— Believe that God’s favor and Blessing can cause you to prosper and experience success, even in difficult times.
3. Receiving God’s Word helps you to remain OPEN to His blessing.
— You should feed on the Word of God consistently. The more Word of God you know, the better you will get to know the God of the Word.
— The Word you consistently receive will be the Word that you expand your capacity to believe. And believing is critical because the God you believe is the God you will keep your heart open to. All things are possible to him who believes, but if you don’t believe something, you close the door of possibility (for you) for that thing.
— Once you are in a position to believe what God said and believe how it applies to you, you can then exercise your faith for it. Believing is not faith. Demons believe. Faith takes your belief to another level. It acts upon it. Faith is something you say, something you do, or a (financial) seed you sow based on what you believe God said to you about your future.
— Once you believe and operate in faith, you must develop patience. God’s blessings will not come overnight. You must remain in faith for the long haul; until you see (in your hands) what God revealed (in your heart).
— None of this will happen unless you are OPEN to it. Nothing is impossible with God. Many things are impossible with man. But if your heart is OPEN to the seemingly impossible, then the impossible can become possible for you. Jacob and his boys went from living in lack in the middle of a famine to moving to Goshen and enjoying the best of everything. They did not earn it. The brothers, indeed, did not deserve it. But when that time came, and the favor of God was flowing, their hearts were OPEN to receive! I pray your heart will be OPEN to receive when God is ready to bless you!
How this applies to you:
— Consistently immerse yourself in the Word of God to build your faith.
— Believe that God’s promises are for you and act on your beliefs as you are led by the Holy Spirit.
— Develop patience as you wait for God’s blessings to manifest in your life.
— Stay open to the possibilities that God’s favor can bring, even if they seem improbable or flat-out impossible.
— When it comes time to reap a harvest on the seeds you have been sowing, don’t allow false humility to cause you to put a “NO” where God put a “YES.” People do this when they say, “Oh, no! There is no way I can receive that. No, thank you.” If God is trying to bless you, RECEIVE IT! That’s what Jacob and his sons did.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I open my heart wide to receive Your favor.
I trust in Your timing and know that every delay is a setup for greater glory.
I believe Your Word and allow it to expand my capacity for faith.
I embrace the blessings You send through others, knowing they are part of Your plan.
I stand firm in faith, confident that Your promises will manifest in my life.
I declare that Your favor will open doors that my labor cannot.
I remain open to Your blessings, even those beyond my understanding.
I repeatedly meditate and medicate on Your goodness and favor, strengthening my faith.
I expect miracles and breakthroughs, knowing nothing is impossible with You.
I boldly declare that GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
